Innocent
by T.j.98
Summary: When Katniss Everdeen went missing Gale thought things could not get worse; he was wrong. Now Gale is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit, and his only hope is a red haired peacekeeper named Darius. Spinoff of the Selection Series.
1. Chapter 1:Missing

**Darius's Point Of View**

* * *

It has been over a three and a half months now, and we still have not found her.

This is not from lack of searching; we have been searching tirelessly in the woods for any sign of her but have come up empty handed. No arrows, no footprints, no trace of her presence whatsoever.

We soon began to fear the worst, and started looking for signs of a shallow grave or a dead body. Once again, we came up empty handed.

Then a new Headpeacekeeper arrived at District 12, an overzealous lawman who is too blind to see that the laws made in the Capitol do not work here. Because he is enforcing them without exception, people are starving.

He suspected a case of running away, but his bloodhounds found nothing. His theory was ruled out once evidence failed to surface.

The only good aspect of Thread coming to District 12, or at least the only one I noticed, was putting Cray under lock and key. He'll either hang or burn, and quite frankly either of those punishments would be too good for the son of a bitch.

In any case, neither I nor any other Peacekeeper or civilian in District 12 has the slightest idea what happened to Katniss Everdeen. It is as though this close friend of mine, for all intent and purposes, vanished into thin air.

Having a close friend go missing would be hard enough on its own, but it is clear that the other people in her life are also having a hard time with this.

Gale continues to worry over the fate of his hunting partner and friend. He searched for her in the woods every day, up until the electric fence went on and prevented him from hunting anymore.

Now, all he does is worry himself sick. When I talked with him he told me that he was having nightmares; this would explain why he does not look like he is getting any sleep. It is clear he misses her, but not everyone sees how much Gale is bothered.

I am walking on patrol, like any other day. As I walk, I can hear people talking. Two people in particular are saying things which makes me upset.

"Did you hear what happened to that hunter girl?"

"Everdeen? Yes, she was murdered."

"I'll bet the Hathworne boy did it. He's the only other person who'd be in the woods."

I am grinding my teeth together in anger. How dare they accuse Gale of such a thing! If they could see how worried he is over Katniss's fate, they would not be thinking he did it.

I wish it was just a rumor, but I have been hearing crap like this for the last month and I am sick of it. The only reason I do not give them a piece of my mind is that I already got a Non-Judicial Punishment for getting in a fistfight with another peacekeeper after he called Gale a murderer. If I get thrown in the brig, than it will be a bit hard for me help the Everdeens pay for food.

So I hold my tongue.


	2. Chapter 2:Arrest

**Gale's Point of View**

* * *

Exhausted, I drag myself back from work.

I hate working in the Coal Mines. There is no air down there, and I constantly feel as though I am suffocating. All the while, it is impossible not to think of Dad while I am down there. Did he hate the tunnels too? Did he also gasp for breath upon resurfacing?

Was he afraid to die?

Anyway, I am too exhausted to think about this. With all that happened recently, all I can do is drag myself home.

When I finally reach my home, I am immediately greeted by my sister Posy.

"Gale's back! Gale's back!"

Despite every bone in my body aching, I am still able to pick Posy up to hug her when she comes running to greet me.

After that, I quite literally crawl to the kitchen table for dinner. It has been about two weeks since the fence became permanently electrified, but I was able to stockpile food for both my family and the Everdeens. My meager salary is not enough to continue my charity, but my good friend Darius promised that he would cover that.

My mother cooking some salted venison when I hear the knock at the door. It is a loud, demanding lock. It is clear that whoever is making it apparently can not wait five seconds. This can only mean one thing: peacekeepers.

What on Earth can they be knocking at my door for? I haven't hunted in two weeks, and even then I made sure nobody saw me in the act.

Maybe I made a mistake or slipped up? Maybe someone snitched on me?

No, this must be nothing.

"Don't worry Mom, I'll get the door."

I get up and walk to the door, and it is clear that whoever is here is getting impatient. "We are Peacekeepers, open the door immediately."

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

I open the door and see four stern Peacekeepers; I can tell by their uniforms and by their thick District 2 accents that they are New Peacekeepers.

"Tell Gale Hawthorne that he needs to come here now."

"This is he. What seems to be the problem officer?" If I was not exhausted from work, than my voice would betray just how pissed off I am.

Right after I finish speaking, one of them grabs my arm and pulls me forward. Before I know what is going on, he turns me around and handcuffs by hands behind my back.

"Gale Hawthorne, you are under arrest for the rape and murder of Katniss Everdeen."

Oh crap, they must have seen my illegal poaching in the woods.

... wait? What the fuck did he say I was accused of!?

"This must be some mistake, I would never do such a thing!"

"Yeah, sure, that's what they all say."

"No, please, I didn't do it! I'm innocent!"

By the time they push me into the back of the armored car, and my mother is at the door watching me get taken away, I am screaming at the top of my lungs.

"I'M INNOCENT! I'M INNOCENT!"

I scream this over and over, until the Peacekeeper injects me with something and I lose consciousness.

...

When I wake up, I am in a holding cell. It is a cold cell with only a metal toilet in the corner, a sleeping bag in the other corner, and a tiny window at the top of the wall where light is able to filter through. The walls are made of bare concrete, as is the floor. The door is made of solid metal, with a small slit on the bottom (for food and water) and a smaller slit about face high (presumably so I can see who is on the other side).

My mining outfit is gone, replaced instead with an orange jumpsuit.

I am scared, but I do not need to wait long.

"Gale, are you awake?"

"Purnia? Is that you?"

"Yes."

"You have to believe me, I didn't do the things they accused me of! I would never hurt her!"

"Don't worry, I believe you. I can't talk now, but I promise I'll tell Darius and get him to help you."

"Please help me, I'm scared."

"Don't worry, I promise I won't forget about you."

With that, she left.


	3. Chapter 3:Investigation

**Darius's Point of View**

* * *

_"Peacekeeper Darius, report to the Justice Building in one hour. You've been raffled for Jury Duty."_

I am still thinking of these words when I walk over to the Justice Building. After walking through the hallway, I go into the deliberation room.

Inside are ten other Peacekeepers. Nine of them are of basic rank like me, and the tenth one is Headpeacekeeper Romulus Thread. They are all sitting around a rectangular table, and there is a seat at the end which I take.

Romulus Thread addressees us. "Peacekeepers of the Jury, a young man by the name of Gale Hawthorne has been accused of raping and murdering a young woman named Katniss Everdeen. I have called you here to look over the this case and come to a reasonable conclusion. A young woman is dead, and a young man's life hangs in the balance. I urge you to discuss the case honestly and thoughtfully, and to come to a sincere conclusion.

You will first get a chance to look over evidence compiled during the investigation, which will include video recordings of the suspect and various witnesses being interviewed.

If you believe he did not commit the crimes he is charged with, than by law you are obligated to find him not guilty. However, if there is no reasonable doubt of than you must in both legal obligation and good consciousness find the defendant guilty. However you decide, it must be unanimous. If you decide that Gale Hawthorne is guilty, than do not make pleas for mercy or leniency on his behalf; rape and murder on their own are two of the most heinous crimes a person can commit, and so the only acceptable punishment for someone who has committed both of these crimes is the death penalty.

I will be present during the deliberations, this is only to ensure it is being carried out in accordance to the law. Apart from that, it will be like I'm not even here."

This all horrifies me; Gale Hawthorne would never do something like this. In all the time that I have known him he has never so much as slapped Katniss, and now they are accusing him of her death?

Surely this must me some mistake.

I watch the first video, it is of Gale being interrogated.

He looks scared out of his wits, and is clad in an orange jumpsuit. Seeing him in his state of terror serves to solidify my conviction in his innocence.

The interrogator in the video speaks first. "Mr. Hawthorne, I'm just going to ask you some questions. The more you cooperate, the faster we can get through this."

"Okey ..."

"Now, tell me about your relationship with Katniss Everdeen."

"We hunted together to feed our families; Cray gave us permission to enter the woods and hunt so I didn't know it was illegal."

I can tell Gale is lying about his legal ignorance, but I am relieved to see that he still has the presence of mind to avoid getting trapped in charges for poaching _and_ leaving the fence.

"I take it you two were close?"

"Yes, we were friends ..."

He looks down when he says this, showing that he is heartbroken that his friend went missing.

"And you wanted to be more than friends?"

"What do you mean?"

The way Gale says this does not deny that he might have had romantic feelings towards Katniss (I don't know if he actually did, but I assumed he spent enough time with her that if he did want her as a wife that he would have said something), but it is clear he is suspicious of what the investigator means.

"I mean, maybe you tried to sleep with her and when she rejected your advances you got angry."

At this, Gale looks outright horrified.

"No! No! I would never do anything to hurt her!"

The investigator continued to egg Gale on, probably thinking that he could get him to unwittingly confess to his crime. If Gale actually was a criminal, this might work. But he is not a criminal.

"I think you wouldn't take no for an answer, and afterwords you had to make sure she wouldn't go running her mouth off to the Peacekeepers."

"That's not true!"

"Maybe you forced yourself on her too roughly, and killed her."

"I DID NOT KILL HER!"

"Who are you trying to convince? We all know you did it. Where did you hide her corpse?

At this point Gale is positively screaming; he is probably wondering what is causing the worst nightmare of his life and why he can not wake up from it. I do not blame him for not maintaining an inside voice.

"NO I DID'NT! I would never hurt her! I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

Thread turns off the video. He seems unmoved by this, perhaps dealt with so much of this stuff that he is now immune to feeling.

"The interrogation goes on like this for several more hours; the suspect continued to deny committing the crime. Next is a video of one of the witnesses."

The video then cuts to a different room. The same investigator is talking to Mr. Cooperson, an old man whose home Gale walks past when going to or from the (now dismantled) Hob. Cooperson is a retired teacher, and he is well liked by most people.

The investigator talks to the old man in a different way, in a way that is trying to coax into calm rather than catch off guard.

"Thank you for coming here. I am sure you want to get home soon so try to cooperate as much as you can and we can have this over with shortly."

"Okey, but may I ask a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why am I here? I pay all my taxes and my son is too old for the reaping, and his son is too young."

"You did nothing wrong, we just brought you here because we got a tipoff you have information concerning the disappearance of Katniss Everdeen."

"Huh? The Everdeens don't have a daughter by that name. Their only child is a boy named Jeremy. Nice kid; loves the outdoors and has a better singing voice than any other kid in my class."

It is sad, Cooperson's mind is not what it used to be.

The investigator looks at his papers and corrects the kindly old man.

"Actually, Jeremy Everdeen is the father of Katniss and Primrose Everdeen. He died in a work related injury in year sixty nine."

Cooperson, remembering this, has a look on his face of sadness. Not necessarily over Mr. Everdeen's death, but more over the majority of his life is behind him.

"oh."

"Now, you said you saw Gale Hawthorne walking past your house a few months age?"

"Yes, I believe he was back from a hunting trip. He had a nervous look about him, as though he were worried about something."

"Was Katniss with him?"

"No; usually they walk home together but this day he was alone."

"Are you sure?"

"Oh, yes. I remember it clearly."

"That's all, I think I have enough now."

Thread turns the television screen off.

"You can begin deliberations."


	4. Chapter 4:Deliberation

**Darius's Point Of View**

* * *

Once Thread gives the word, the other Jurors talk. Thread just sits and observes, occasionally taking notes on a clipboard.

One Peacekeeper, a new guy named Crispin Morris, speaks first. "Well, this is clearly an open and shut case: he's guilty."

To my horror, the other peacekeepers voice agreement.

"Guilty."

"Guilty."

"He's guilty."

"That boy is a rapist if I ever saw one."

"He's for the gallows."

"Guilty."

"Guilty."

"There'll be a hanging tomorrow."

"That boy needs to die."

Morris continues, "Then let's have a vote. If you think Gale Hawthorne is guilty, raise your hand."

I am the only one who does not raise my hand, and when they notice this the other jurors turn and look at me.

Morris asks me a question in a voice with unmasked hostility. "Darius, why in hell and Earth you think he is not guilty?"

I answer easily enough. "I know this boy; he has no history of violent crimes and in fact has no violent tendencies. Apart from that, there isn't enough evidence for a conviction."

"What evidence do you need? He's obviously guilty!"

I need to choose my words with caution. Headpeacekeeper Thread, who up until now seemed to just be observing us, now looks at me with suspicion when I mention that I know Gale. Perhaps he thinks I am nepotistic.

"I just think we should talk about it. I mean, this is a big decision. Executions can't exactly be reversed."

Nicolai Licinius, another New Peacekeeper, also considers Gale guilty. However, he at least is willing to hear me our.

"Well, maybe if we look at the evidence you can tell ys your side of the story and we can explain why he's guilty."

"Okey, but only if I can make my argument for his innocence afterwords."

"Fair enough. The first piece is circumstantial evidence: realistically Gale Hawthorne is the only one who would have been in the woods with Katniss as the time she is presumed to have been murdered. Second, a witness saw Gale Hawthorne returning from the woods alone and with a look on his face that may have been guilt or fear of being caught. Finally, it is important to remember that just because he knew the victim does not mean he is incapable of the crime: two out of every three known rape cases were discovered to have been committed by someone the victim knew."

I'm still convinced Gale is innocent, but at least Licinius made an argument based on reason rather than emotion.

"While Gale and Katniss were the only two real hunters in the woods, they were by far not the only ones. There were many in District 12 who went out into the woods to forage with kitchen knives, and it is possible that one of them might have ... committed the crime."

I feel sick to my stomach when I say the last three words; the victim in question is my friend. I knew Katniss personally, flirted with her in a good natured way, and talked woth her for long hours in the Hob. Now she's gone forever, potentially the victim of someone else's malicious intentions. Still, if it is too late to save her than I can still ensure that her hunting partner and close friend is not the victim of an undeserved execution.

Alexis Porter, another New Peacekeeper, counters. "Even so, Gale was still seen by a witness walking back from the woods with a guilty or ashamed look on his face."

"How do you know it was shame or guilt? It could have been simply concern over the well being of his friend."

Despite this suggestion, nobody looks convinced.

I fear this will be an uphill battle.


	5. Chapter 5:Promise

**Gale's Point Of View**

* * *

It is too cold in here. Too cold.

I can not stop shivering; these orange prisoner's clothes are not nearly enough to keep the cold out. Yet I dare not complain, as I have no idea how much longer I will be here. For all I know, these might be my last moments.

In the past, I never thought about death or about dying. My grandparents both died when I was too young to remember them, I did not have any known extended family members. Because of this, I never really had any reason to wonder about death.

That is, until my father died. After that, I began to have all sorts of questions about death. Do people know when they are about to die? Does dying hurt? Was my dad afraid of dying? Does anything happen after someone dies? And if so, what?

Nobody has ever told me these things, and this is probably because nobody knows. The only way to find these things out is to die, and once you do that you lose the ability to tell anyone what you found out.

Still, I do know I wish my father was still alive. I know it is irrational; if he were still alive he would either mourn me after I am inevitably executed or (even worse than that) believe me to be guilty. Still, as I lay curled unto a tight ball in the corner I still feel like I just want Dad to rock me gently in his arms and tell me everything's going to be okey.

I already know that everything is not going to be okey.

"Gale?"

I push myself into a sitting position, and when I look through the hole on the door I see Darius's face. His presence here is enough to lift my spirits.

"Darius, did Purnia tell you what happened?"

"Yes, and don't worry: I already know you're innocent."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"At least you know I am innocent. I bet you and Purnia are the only ones."

Oh shit, why did I have to say that! Now I can't stop thinking about how all my friends and family probably think I raped and murdered someone.

Ocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrapocrap.

Darius puts my fears to rest. "Don't worry; I talked to your family and friends. All of them know that you are not guilty of the crimes.

This time I breathe an even more audible sigh of relief.

"Don't worry Gale, I'm gonna get you out of there. I got put on the peacekeepers jury, so they can't find you guilty just yet."

"The what?"

"Oh, if there's not enough evidence for surety than the Headpeacekeeper has ten other peacekeepers vote on whether or not the person is guilty."

"Since you're on this jury, they can't vote me guilty?"

"I hope that's how it will go."

"Darius, be honest with me: I'm not going to survive this am I?"

A brief look of pain crosses his face, but it is quickly replaced with determination.

"Gale, I am going to make you a promise. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive."

"Thank you, you're the best friend anyone can ask for."


	6. Chapter 6: Close call

We are back for more deliberations, but this time I sense a tenseness in the room.

Romulus Thread speaks first. "Peacekeeper Darius, you have made some rational arguments in defense of the suspect. However, I fear that your prior relationship with Gale Hawthorne is clowning you're judgement and preventing you from taking an objective stance on the situation. After much thought, I decided that there should be another vote, and this time you are to sit it out. As before, however you all vote it must be unanimous."

Several of the other jurors look relieved, some are breathing sighs of relief outright. A peacekeeper named Wilhelm exclames, "Finally! About time. Let's have a vote; if you think. Gale is g- actually, it would be easier to count who thinks Gale is not guilty. Any takers?"

I scan the table for someone who is raising his hand, anyone at all. My heart begins to pump faster and faster with fear and terror as I see that everyone keeps their hand down.

Thiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappeningthiscan'tbehappening.

If they vote guilty, Gale is going to die. He'll get taken out to the gallows, falsely branded a rapist and a murderer, and after the rope is fastened a trapdoor will drop him into eternity. My close friend whom I have known for years is going to doe and I am powerless to save him.

But before that happens, Porter slowly raises his hand. "Not guilty."

Without missing a beat, Morris pounds his fist on the table with visible anger. "You fucking contrarian!"

He is not the only one upset by this. A few of the other jurors are also showing disapproval of Porter's decision. Still, I am so thankful and grateful to Porter for his change of mind that as far as I am concerned the other jurors can kiss my ass.

Licinius is the only one who's response is not complaint.

"I respect your right to change your mind, but I still can not understand the logic behind your decision."

Porter simply shrugs, "I think there's reasonable doubt as to whether he's guilty or not; Darius made some good points so it's only fair we give this case more looking into. We should talk about this more."

Morris is practically shouting right now. "What is there to talk about? He's clearly guilty, anyone with half a brain can see that!"

"A human life is at stake; we should only execute him if he deserves to die."

Morris responded with a loud scream, "HE DOES DESERVE TO DIE! Why can't you see he's a no good son of a bitch?"

Now I feel compelled to speak. "How can you possibly say that if you have never met him before?"

"Based on the fact that he _raped and murdered_ his neighbor, I don't need to know him to know he's guilty."

"And you know this with one hundred percent surety?"

"Yep."

"Not an ounce of doubt in you?"

"Not at all. In fact, I'm so comfortable that when we find him gilts I want to be the one who flips the switch. And I'd enjoy it too."

I am just stunned speechless by this. How anyone can say such a horrific thing is beyond me.

I myself understand that sometimes it is necessary to execute someone if his crime is severe enough. However, during the few executions I have had to carry out one thing always is the same: I dread being the one to pull the trigger. That someone can look forward to it is beyond me.

"I hope I never actually look forward to ending a human's life. You're one sadist if you actually _like_ flipping the switch."

Morris is about to flip out (I can just tell), but a Peacekeeper named Pompey fortunately starts speaking before he gets a chance to. Now he will just have to sit there quietly, letting his anger and hatred stew.

"Please, let's stay on topic. Now Darius, you argue that Gale wasn't the only hunter in the woods? "

"Well, what I meant is that Gale and Katniss weren't the only ones who went into the woods. While they were the only hunters, there were many other foragers and scavengers who snuck across."

Under his breath, one juror snickers. "Probably out looking for shrooms."

As insulting as this assumption is, I try to ignore it so as to continue with my point. "It is possible that the real ... killer ... snuck in through a hole in the fence."

"How would they get past the electricity?"

Thread answered this one. "Under the mismanagement and corruption of Cray, he fence was left deactivated for all but a few minutes each week. While I was waiting for the inspector to bring in a new generator, I had the inspector check the fence for holes."

"How many did he find?"

"I don't remember off the top of my head."

"I mean roughly."

"About two hundred or so." Thread says this passionlessly as he has said every word this trial, but his eyes widen when he realizes the obvious implication of this.

Porter sums this up. "So if there were multiple points of exit ... than anyone could have snuck past the fence easily."

Licinius makes a comment, "Still, it is important to bare in mind that Gale would have been the only one who would know where to find Katniss in the woods."

"Someone couldn't have stalked ... her ... for a period of time, learning her patterns?"

"I suppose so, but it is unlikely that it was someone else."

I am not bothered by the fact that opposition is still stiff; it was a close call today and any day where my friend is not sentenced to death is a good day.


	7. Chapter 7:Angry mob

Darius's Point Of View

* * *

It is a cold night tonight. Quiet too.

Im not taking any chances, so I am guarding the outside of the cell block during the nighttime. I can not guard them every night, but Puria offered to rotate with me so that we each take a turn at the night shift.

Inside the cell block behind me, my close friend is freezing while he awaits trial for a crime he would never have committed. If I can prove him innocent, than ...

than ...

Try though I might, the results I imagine are not very good. Surely I am not the only one who knows he is innocent. Right?

Right?

I can not let these thoughts bother me. I must focus on getting Gale's name cleared, than I we cross the other bridge when we come to it.

I can not let what the Mayor said unnerve me. Even if it made me sick, I still can not let myself be disheartened.

While I was guarding a door at the Justice Building, I overheard the Mayor talking with his daughter. He told her to stay away from Gale, telling her that he was guilty of the crime he is being tried for. I hope she did not believe this lie, as too many do.

I guess this is not a good year. The life is slowly getting sucked out of Panem; Delly and Peeta (two Merchant Children known throughout the district for how cheery and kind they are) got reaped, and their odds do not look good. Katniss has been missing a long time, and I am afraid that she is dead: my close friend is dead and we can not even find the son of a bitch responsible.

Wait, what are all those people doing?

There is a large mob here, consisting of maybe sixty five people. They are carrying crude weapons like mining tools and other bludgeons. They are pissed off.

"String him up!" "Off with his head!" "Kill the rapist!"

I lift my machinegun and point it at them, warning the mob not to come further. This causes them to stop, but not to disperse.

"What do you want?"

A man in the crowd, who to my horror is someone I can identify, answers. "We want Gale."

"Thom, you too?"

This miner, someone who had been Gale's friend, seems hesitant in his answer. "I have a newborn at home. I need to make sure District 12 is a safe place for her to grow up in."

"By killing your friend?"

Someone else, a much angrier person, answers. "He's not our friend, and neither are you. Only a pathetic excuse for a man stands and defends a rapist."

At this point, I am getting upset. "Gale didn't do it, he would never do it. What I want to know is why you are all willing to hang a man before he even has a trial?"

"Just let us through, we don't want trouble but we are prepared for it if you won't cooperate."

Sometimes words do not work. Fortunately, I have plan B.

"In my hands is a fully loaded machine gun, containing enough bullets to kill hundreds of people. If you do not disperse, then I will be forced to use it."

The threat may be severe, but it works. They disperse, and the only sign of resistance is when one person yells to me behind his back. "We'll be back."

Once they were gone, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

After that is done, I enter the cell block. It is a cold and miserable place, full of weeping and sorrow. Very quickly I find the cell I was looking for; the inhabitant of this cell must have heard the angry mob outside.

I open the slit on the door and see the figure huddled against the corner.

"Don't worry Gale, it's me."

"Are they gone?"

"Yes, they're gone. They are not going to hurt you tonight."

"Darius, thank you."


	8. Chapter 8:Hopeless

**Darius's Point Of View**

I finish the night shift and walk to the bunks to get some much needed rest. I don't leave until the peacekeeper taking up my post arrives. He is one of the new ones, but fortunatly that is a good thing in this case. Him being an over zealous nut means he probably won't back down if the lynch mob returns.

In the hallways, I run into Purnia. She looks visibly upset.

"Hey Purnia."

"Hey. How was your day?"

"I just had to deal with a lynch mob. They wanted access to the cell block."

"After Gale?"

"Yes, but I was able to get them to disperse with not-so-thinly-veiled threats."

Purnia looks visibly relieved. "That's good."

"How was your day?"

Purnia at first does not answer me, but when we walk through the (cleaned up) courtyard, she sits down on one of the benches. When I sit down next to her, she lets it all out. Her voice has a sort of weariness, as though all the energy had been drained.

"Mrs. Everdeen was murdered today."

What? This must be some sick joke. It was not enough that Katniss died, now her mother has to die too?

I'll admit that she's wasn't in an ideal mental state. She was in denial, convinced that Katniss would be alive and unharmed when we found her (as apposed to in a shallow grave in the woods). If Katniss turns out dead, than at best her mother would turn catatonic again.

But the worst part is imagining how Prim is feeling.

I am silent, listening as Purnia continues.

"She was walking home from the store, and she got attacked by muggers. One of them hit her on the head with a hammer, when we found her it was too late for the medics to do anything. They must have been after food, because she already gave them what little money she had on her. Or maybe the amount wasn't sufficient."

This can not possibly get worse.

"How did you find out?"

"I had to tell Prim she no longer has a mother."

It just got worse.

"She reacted like you'd expect her to, and I took her to the orphanage."

The orphanage, officially called the community home, is where children are sent when their parents can not care for them. It is a place where they can grow in peace and security with an adequate supply of food.

In theory.

In practice, the orphanage in District 12 has always been a miserable place to live. It's too cold, too close to the mines, the current master/matron is either too irresponsible or too greedy or too drunk or too cruel. And of course there is never enough food to feed all of a quarter of them. When Romulus Thread came to District 12, he only managed to fix the last one so far: this was enough to make the orphans the only non-peacekeepers in the district who actually like him. Still, it's better than some other districts: the orphanage in District 11 and District 8 are also overcrowded, and the one in District 6 is really a glorified sweatshop in addition to being all the other horrible things that make orphanages bad places to live.

I hope she survives.

"This place is falling apart. Katniss is dead. Peeta is dead. Delly is dead. Now Mrs. Everdeen too. And pretty soon Gale will be next."

It is true. Katniss has been missing for so long that the chances of her still being alive is almost zero. Peeta and Delly were reaped, and they died on television. Fortunately Peeta died peacefully in his sleep (Haymitch sent morphling once Peeta's wound proved too severe), and Delly was killed instantly. In any case, the life has been sucked out of District 12.

"Darius, you can't give up now. You said yourself you're convincing the rest of the jury, and once the rest come along Gale will be free-"

"And then what? What kind of life will possibly be awaiting Gale on the other side of the bars?! Everyone in the district hates him, and there's no way any girl will marry or even date someone who was labelled like this! He'll be a social pariah, that guy everyone avoids. Anytime Gale's name is brought up the first thing anyone will think of is that he's rapist! His name is stained with these lies, and probably his whole family's name too. And that's just if some assholes don't outright lynch him. Its hopeless ... everything's hopeless ..."

It is only now that I reeling I started crying during my tirade.

Purnia places her hand on my shoulder, rubbing it sympathetically.

"Darius, you can't afford to think like this. We both know he's innocent, and so does his family. This means that there must be others who feel the same way. You can't give up now. Gale's counting on you."

I inhale exhaustedly. "Ok. I'll keep going."

We part ways and I head to the male dormitory. The

Inside, peacekeepers are sleeping early or playing cards or reading or watching the movie. The movie playing this time is about the battle of Rorke's Drift, a siege in which soldiers of one of the Pre-Cataclysm empires defended a fort against a horde of spear wielding savages who outnumber them by the thousands. As in all movies, the good guys are wearing white uniforms, speaking with District 2 accents, and the leader figure gives an I passionate speech on the importance of loyalty to the empire. In this movie, the bad guys have the skin color of District 11 civilians.

Two of the peacekeepers watching the film are arguing as to whether the empire in the movie is Roman or North American.

My mind is unable to settle for more than a few seconds, so after a few failed attempts to distract myself I crawl into bed and let my mind go blank.


End file.
